Birmingham Lacrosse 1sts went into this game looking to consolidate their position at the top of the league, and did so in style as they commanded the game against Nottingham on Metchley 3G.
It was a brisk afternoon, and perhaps that accounted for the rustiness Birmingham showed in the opening stages of the match, as they failed to make the most of some early pressure, and found themselves 1-0 down after 5 minutes. Both goalkeepers were then called upon to make saves, the home sides’ more than once, and eventually after a good advantage played by one of the referees, Nottingham were able to score all too easily from a Birmingham perspective as the defence was somewhat exposed.
This proved to be the wake up call that the Lions needed, as they hit back with a quick-fire double, much to the delight of the many onlookers. The quarter was then called, but this did not dent Birmingham’s momentum, as they then extended their lead to 3-2 shortly after. The home side then scored another after a great save from the Nottingham keeper; the attacker driving from deep and exploiting the space to score. They were then unfortunate to concede a soft goal as the ball trickled into the net after the keeper thought he had saved.
The crowd was then rewarded with another well taken goal before a timeout was called, and Birmingham took a well deserved 5-3 lead at the break. Again, the Lions did not allow their momentum to be halted, as they scored 2 more goals before the halfway mark. It was one-way traffic before half time, and unsurprisingly the match continued in the same vein after, with Birmingham taking full advantage of their possession, and the space that they were creating, by scoring seven unanswered goals before eventually conceding a consolation goal just before the end of the third quarter.
Birmingham did not let up, however, and were able to score four more goals in the final quarter, taking the final score to 18-4. There were some exceptionally good goals scored at Metchley by the Lions, and with more performances like this, against a strong opponent, they put themselves in a great position to go on and win their league.
